My Only Hope . . .

Our prayers are with those who’ve been personally affected by the shooting at Virginia Tech. There are no words I can share today that will make sense of this tragedy, and rehashing the details will not bring us comfort. I take my comfort during times of crisis from God’s promise to never leave me helpless (Joshua 1:5b), and from God’s power that is so much greater than mine (1 Corinthians 1:25).

That’s the only reason I don’t live in fear in this troubled world. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for [God is with me]” (Psalm 23:4). Sometimes this world can seem hopeless, and we can get caught in a spiral of hopeless depression. But God offers Hope—in fact He is our Hope.

Imus Not Tell a Lie . . .
Well, by now you’ve heard all you want about Don Imus, and the aftermath of his inappropriate comments. It’s amazing to me how much coverage news stories get today. Almost as amazing as what is considered news today.

Before we get very far, I’m not defending Imus or his statements. I’ve never even heard his program. What is interesting to me is the primary defense given by him and his other defenders. The argument goes something like this: “This is about entertainment, not content. Just because I say racist things to be entertaining, that doesn’t make me a racist.”

As a society that values entertainment above all, we are compelled by this argument to rethink our morality and to contribute to the “Save the Offensive Entertainers” fund.

The big question for me is, “Can I separate my mouth from my morality?”

Every time I open my mouth (or type), I express what I am thinking. Even if I don’t consider myself a racist, if I say racist things, I am at least willing to go that far in my thoughts. Jesus said, “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” In a nutshell, you are what you say.

I’m not saying the media never takes things out of context, or that I’ve never pushed the envelope for the sake of a laugh. I’m only suggesting, if I think things are funny that others find detestable, perhaps I should apologize for who I’ve become, rather than simply what I said.